Far Cry 5 Review

With each passing moment in Far Cry 5, I was astounded at how outright crazy things could get with just
a small amount of input from me. Traversing rural America while trying to depose a religious cult leader
may be the start and finish of the story but what really makes Far Cry 5 an interesting game is everything
done in between.

Starting off as the unnamed and silent deputy, I was briefly given a small amount of information on the
leader of the cult “Eden’s Gate”. Headed up by Joseph Seed, it was clear that this family was up to no
good. It doesn’t take long before as expected, the plan to arrest Joseph goes south. It takes a short
amount of time until you have a vendetta to take out not only Joseph but his three siblings who all control
a different area of Hope County as well as different aspects of the running of this cult.

Each Seed child has motives that change the gameplay in their local area. It’s an interesting premise
and is set up really well but after the opening half hour or so, the story seems to come second to actually
getting out into the world. It’s certainly a positive that as soon as the training wheels are off that the
whole world is there to be explored and conquered in any way necessary; but the freedom comes at the
detriment of telling an interesting tale.

When you are set free on the game world, every corner of the map is explorable. There’s no funnelling
towards any “correct” path; just a pat on the back and “go fix this problem”. It was simple to go out into
the world and find the tools to use to really make an impact. Within the first hour, a helicopter was there
for the taking. Unlike other games that may gate these kinds of things off until a player has “put in the
time” to explore the world, Far Cry 5 seems to want to let players have the fun that they want to have. A
helicopter certainly isn’t required to enjoy the beauty of Hope County. Every area is filled with natural
beauty and provides a real sense of scale. Large trees give off an imposing feeling and rivers look like
they have been carved by years of ceaseless flowing. This is in stark contrast to some of the horrors
going on in the area though. Cultist strongholds feel gritty and everywhere you look some kind of horror
has occurred.

As with many Ubisoft games, the open world of Far Cry 5 has plenty to be getting on with. From taking
over the cultist strongholds, working with allies or making sure that civilians are safe; the game provides
something interesting to be working towards at all times. Even when travelling from point to point,
stumbling across cultists doing the same can provide a wild scenario to unfold. The companions met
along the way all provide various support on the quest to overthrow the grip that the Seed family have on
Hope County. Some of these are just your regular human companions, some are far more special than
that. The animal companions are really where it’s at; especially Cheeseburger the Bear. These
companions really make for some interesting events to happen when in the middle of combat and really
add to the fun.

Fun is at the heart of this game. The ability to go out and just make of this world what you want. It
certainly has had an impact on the way they are able to progress the story as other than the opening
hour and the final act, it really doesn’t seem to be in the forefront at all. This is a shame as the characters
here have the potential to carry the narrative a lot further than it’s ever allowed to do so.
Ultimately, this doesn’t stop Far Cry 5 from being an incredibly entertaining game. Each moment
provides something a little different to experience. The location allows for a fresh new perspective on the
same style of gameplay that has made previous games in the series fun to play. No other Far Cry game
has felt this open, entertaining or polished. If having this beautifully exciting world to roam is what we get
for sacrificing a more in-depth story, then I won’t be one to argue. There is more than enough to do in the
world to keep you interested.